The Warman Wildcats used relentless pressure and solid goaltending to come away with an important 3-0 win over the Regina Pat Canadians in a Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA game played at the Legends Centre on Saturday, December 11.
Warman coach Courage Bear felt his team executed their game plan perfectly.
“I think it was a pretty solid effort throughout the whole lineup. Everyone contributed,” said Bear.
The Wildcats were on the puck all game.
“That is part of the game plan. Take away time and space,” said Bear. “They have a good team and they skate. Be physical. Be on top of it, on their toes.”
Connor Gabriel got the Wildcats on the scoreboard with his first period goal. His teammate Dustin Renas added another in the second, and Brock Evans netted a power play marker early in the third period.
The score could have been higher if not for some great saves by Pat Canadians goalie Kelton Pyne, who earned away star of the game honours. Home star of the game Luke Brunen made 25 saves in the shutout win.
While pleased with the win, Brunen is looking at opportunities to continue to improve in upcoming games.
“Right now the focus is on the next game against Tisdale. We have got to keep it rolling as we get ready for the Macs tournament,” said Brunen. “We leave on Boxing Day. There are three more games before Christmas Break so we have to win those games. We will be playing top tier teams. Every team will be good. We have to give our all.”
The team did win the game played in Tisdale on Sunday, December 12. Dustin Renas, Connor Gabriel and Rhett Dekowny scored for the Wildcats while Brunen had 25 saves in the 3-1 victory.
Warman will host the Moose Jaw Warriors on December 17 and December 18. Both games are 8:00 p.m. start at the Legends Centre.
The team will then travel to Calgary as one of thirty teams scheduled to play in the Mac’s U18AAA hockey tournament against the best teams from Canada, USA and Europe. The tournament is set to begin on December 27.